You Will be Alright, I Promise
by FutureAirbender18
Summary: To protect the ones he loves, Aang has to sacrifice everything he has.  Eight years post war. Not a one-shot anymore...
1. Chapter 1

**Time: 10:18 PM**

**Well... I felt like it. **

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Avatar: the last Airbender._

* * *

There was no possible way he could fix the mess they were in this time. He knew that for a fact. But he couldn't let them know that. He needed them to stay strong.

He knew what the outcome would come to, as well. And it wasn't in his favor.

Aang inhaled deeply.

"Please," he rasped, his voice ragged and choked in his sore throat, "Please let them go."

There they stood, all of them, a thin line of dirt separating them by one hundred feet or so, in the fire nation palace courtyard. He could see the giant wooden box they had somehow shoved Toph into. She was pounding from the inside, her beatings becoming weaker and weaker. Aang hung his head, picturing her fists bloody and hurting.

Sokka was lying on the ground next to the box, crumpled, a large gash on his thigh, causing him to bleed everywhere. His body was lying at such an awkward angle, that at first glance you would make the mistake of counting him dead. But there was the slightest tremble of his heartbeat reverberating through the ground to Aang's feet. That was the only thing that kept Aang knowing he was alive.

Fire nation soldiers were everywhere, guarding the box, circling around Sokka's body.

Everywhere.

Aang was circled now, a thick circle of five or six layers of soldiers surrounding him, their fists raised, just waiting for the moment that they would be able to finish him off. The Avatar would once again be killed.

This was planned. They had all thought that the fire nation rebels had finally died down and gave up once and for all. But now, eight years after the war had ended, they showed up in of all places; the fire nation palace.

The circled moved, leaving a ragged Aang, holding himself up on a staff, in front of a mass of soldiers, still aimed at him.

Tiredly, Aang lifted his bowed head and looked up in front of him. Some soldiers had brought out Fire Lord Zuko, his arms completely bound, and shoved him to his knees near the rest of the injured Gaang.

Aang felt his heart dropped. It was all over now. He knew it.

Zuko hissed as they kicked him on the ground. He was completely defenseless, and he groaned and cried out with every kick he received.

Aang winced at every wail that came from the other side of the line. The injured side. His friends side.

But… wait, what was that? He felt an enormous tremble beneath his feet.

Yes, it was a stampede of earthbenders coming towards the palace. Katara must have gotten to them in time.

"Oh please Katara, don't come with them," He whispered to himself ever so quietly.

Zuko was unconscious now. Aang felt his stomach wanting to come up, and gulped the fear and anger down inside himself once again.

A door opened and the earthbenders came crashing in the courtyard. They came to a halt, seeing the Avatar on the fire side, facing them, all the soldiers behind him.

_There's no way they can win,_ He thought, _They would all die_.

Aang saw the fire nation soldiers getting ready to fire at them. They were itching for a fight.

"Wait!" Aang cried out, stumbling a little, holding steady to his staff. His feet ached from walking on hot coals, and from being hit so many times. He was sure his left leg was broken as well. He cringed at the pain, trying to swallow the bile that rose in his throat.

Everyone went silent.

Until a door behind the earthbenders opened, and out came the very last person Aang wanted there.

"No," He whispered to the air. It felt like every red alert signal was going off inside of him.

She came running forwards, water running all over her arms, her face hard, and determined. Suddenly, noticing there was no fighting, she stopped and took in the scene.

Aang could tell the soldiers behind him were ready to consume her in fire.

Tears were beginning to form in his eyes. _No._

"Aang!" She cried from the other side of the line, "Aang!"

"Katara," he rasped. He felt a fire nation soldier step closer to him, the heat of the flame near the back of his head. Aang closed his eyes.

_I can't do it,_ he squeezed his eyes tight, _I can't sacrifice her and the baby. I can't sacrifice any of them. _

He opened them again.

"Let them go," Aang said loudly, his voice pained, "Let them go free."

The guy behind him was silent, the flame still pointed at the Avatar.

"We can't allow that," he said, his voice muffled behind his mask.

Aang ground his teeth and opened his eyes.

"Katara, be strong!" He yelled across to his wife.

She was stopped, but took a step forward.

"Katara, don't come any closer!" He yelled angrily to her, "Hold her back! That's an order!"

One of the dazed earthbenders lunged at her, entrapping her moving feet and grabbed her hands. She struggled, trying to wrench out of his grip, but couldn't. Her burnt hair was now shorter, dangling around her ash-smudged face.

"Why?" She yelled at the top of her lungs at him, "Why are you allowing this!"

Aang was pained by her words, and closed his eyes.

"Aang! I know you can do it! You can beat all of these guys! You are strong enough to defeat every single one of them!" Tears were staining her face, making streak marks down her smudged face.

He took in a shaky breath, feeling a couple tears escape his eyes.

There was no stopping death. And knew it was inevitable this day. He hated the thought that she was angry at him at this moment.

"I can't lose you," he whispered to the wind, knowing that only the soldier behind him could hear his words.

"Aang! Why won't you answer me? Why won't you do anything?" She was sobbing now, her voice breaking, and still trying to wrench her arms and feet away from the people holding her back, the water in a pool at her feet.

A few more tears ran down his pale cheeks. His hands gripped his staff, sending pains down his arms, but he ignored them.

"It will be alright," he said loudly at her.

It went silent. Even Toph stopped pounding on the box. _She knows I'm lying,_ He though bitterly.

"Don't lie to me!" Katara screamed, her shriek piercing his eardrums. _You have to do this Aang,_ he urged himself on.

He opened his eyes and looked Katara in the eyes. The same eyes he remembered from eight years ago when he woke up from that crazy long nap in the iceberg. They were still as beautiful as ever. Aang tried to smile, and shift his weight on his feet, but forgot his leg was broken, and hissed sharply. He could hear the soldier behind him shift closer, the flame becoming hotter and hotter near his skin.

He looked back up at Katara, seeing her ash covered face, burnt hair, her belly bulging slight. A feeling of sadness ran through him, and he ground his teeth.

"Trust me!" He yelled, and tried to smile assuring at her, but knew he failed.

"_You_ will be alright!" He yelled, "I promise!"

The realization hit her, and her eyes got wide as she screamed his name.

But it was too late. All in one motion, Aang spread his feet apart and brought his hands sharply up, bringing up a thick wall of earth between the two sides. At the same time he felt, with his feet, the place of every fire nation soldier on the opposite side, and hit the ground again, sending a tremor their way, encasing all of their feet in solid rock.

A second later, the fire soldier rebels were on him.

Eight dozen men were firing at him with everything they had.

First the pain increased and seared at his body. But it didn't matter anymore how much he screamed and cried out. He was burned beyond repair. His thoughts flashed for a moment, the image of Katara flying across his eyelids, her crying in those last moments and then one of her laughing.

_This was the purpose I lived,_ he thought, _This is the moment that I was trained for. _

_ To protect the ones I love._

He felt his mind start to fade, blackness painting its way across the back of his eyelids, washing out her picture. His insides were torn from grief...but a calmness entered him.

_ And let them go._


	2. Chapter 2

**Time: 3:15 PM**

**Okay, so this story was only supposed to be a one-shot, and I forgot to click the "Complete" button on the status. My bad. But I got so many PM's from people whining and complaining and urging me to write more to this story. I personally thought it was finished as it was, but I guess the fans are always right. ;) If you thought it was fine as it was, thank you, but if you wanted more... these next chapters, until the end, are for you! :D Yeesh people, I guess you just can't accept the fact that Aang would die... and to the person who thought that Aang wouldn't die, and that he would save everyone just because he's the Avatar and he is supposed to have all these "magical powers" and be able to bend everything imaginable and be able to get out of ANY situation... I have to disagree (I'm basically saying you're wrong there). **

**Aang is just human... period. There has to be a point where there is no possible way to get out. (I'm too lazy to look back at the review to see who the person was)... he was out of fuel, and... well, I sort of suppose he got the feeling that it was what he needed to do. The whole story was supposed to be the fact that there was NO POSSIBLE way out. Sorry if my writing isn't good enough to explain that. :( **

**Anyways... please review,...because I am writing onto this story for those who wanted more. If you don't review, I will be forced to delete further chapters and leave it as a one-shot. (How's that for cruel? Mwaahaha!)**

**Disclaimer: **_No! If I were younger and you told me that I didn't own Avatar; the last Airbender, I would throw a tantrum and sit on the floor and howl and cry... no wait, I still do that. Just kidding! XD_

* * *

It was months before he woke up. Months before he saw the daylight again, saw anything for that matter.

With a breath of air, he sucked in the sweet atmosphere around him. And once he realized that had happened, his eyelids fluttered open weakly.

He stared at the ceiling above him, his eyes wide as they could go.

_I-I'm alive? _

He urged himself to move his fingers, the strange feeling as if they weren't his own.

_But how?_

He clenched his hand into a weak fist.

_Why? _He thought bitterly, _why am I still alive? _

He closed his eyes, feeling a wave of tiredness rush through him.

"Katara," he tried to say to himself, his voice hoarse and raspy, "Are you okay?"

He closed his eyes once again, feeling dread and doubt run through his body.

* * *

He woke up once again, sunlight filling the room, blinding his eyes to the point where he winced out of frustration. It was then that he recognized the fact that someone was opening the shades.

Light spilled into the room, casting life over rugs and skins hanging on the wall. Aang squinted, his head hurting painfully. He had seen rooms like this before. Before. In the…

"Water tribe," he whispered his voice rusty and cracking.

The person opening the window jumped at the sound and turned to him. A young girl, of about sixteen or seventeen years gazed at him, her eyes wide.

"Y-you're awake," she whispered in awe. Her dark brown hair hung around her shoulders, flipping every which way.

_She has hair so similar to Katara's, _Aang thought suddenly, reaching out desperately for her, but pulled back when he realized that she wasn't his wife.

The girl came up to him, shifting her eyes to the floor, but then back up, meeting his eyes only, and nothing else.

"I'm so glad," she said warmly, smiling softly, "Everyone's been waiting for you to wake up."

Aang opened his mouth, and tried to respond, but his throat was dry and cracked. It ended up coming out ugly and unnatural. "How-how long?" He whispered.

The girl looked at the sheets covering his chest, avoiding his eyes.

"Seven months," she said quietly.

Aang felt his heart speed up, as weak as it was, but none the less, it sped up faster than it had been going in the past months. His stomach dropped like a pin and he stared at her wistfully.

_Seven months? _

He closed his eyes painfully. Katara had had their baby two months ago.

"I wasn't there," he whispered to himself, "Oh why did I wake up?" It would have been easier to deal with things if he had just died like he planned, and not woken back up.

"Why am I alive?" he asked, opening his eyes and looking back up at the girl who was staring at him painfully, but then looked away hurriedly, and shifted her eyes to the floor. Her face flooded with embarrassment. Why did she keep doing that?  
"Your body was found," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully, still staring at the floor, "And brought here to the Northern Water Tribe secretly. We didn't want anyone to know that the Avatar was still alive and barely breathing."

Aang groaned to himself inwardly. Things just kept getting better and better.

He raised his hand weakly to his head to scratch it. His arm tiredly shot pains to his chest, but he ignored it, and scratched his head. He stopped instantly. He was scratching his head. His fingers tangled in his hair, and he huffed completely frustrated now that his hair had grown back and was so long.

_If my hair is grown out, then that must mean?_ He reached down to his jaw line and chin, feeling the young beard he had grown.

"Wonderful," he said sarcastically.

"They shave you once every week," the girl said from the foot of his bed, to where she had moved, straightening up sheets he had unconsciously kicked off or moved from their proper place.

"Wonderful," he repeated once again and put his hand down. As he put it down, he caught a glimpse of his arm.

His arm.

That was not his arm! The arm he knew was one of white unblemished skin, with his light blue tattoos running down them.

This arm was blemished in the most disgusting way possible. Scars completely enveloped his arm, all the way to sis fingers, an ugly pinkish and red color. It was bumpy and infected looking, although it wasn't infected.

He felt bile rise in his throat and rolled to his side. He heaved over the side of the bed and emptied his few stomach contents he had onto the floor. _They must have been feeding me,_ he thought vaguely, but brushed it away.

The girl gasped at the first sight of his throwing up suddenly, but quickly rushed and got a pan of water and a cool cloth which she held to his forehead when he was finished and wiped his mouth.

Aang heaved from exhaustion and tiredly lay his head on his pillow.

"I-I was completely burnt," he whispered to the air in front of him.

The girl bowed her head, still clutching the bowl and kneeling at his bedside. Her eyes were downcast and she didn't answer him back.

Fear rose in him and he felt his whole body convulse inside at the memory of what he last remembered. Fire. So much fire. So much power. It consumed him.

His eyes got wide, as he lost the air in his lungs. He remembered now. As the soldiers were burning him in their waves of flames, Aang had felt his body angry and hurt. But all in one flash he remembered his anger taking control of him and he gathered two huge balls of fire, pulling it from the direction the soldiers were throwing at him and threw it at the ground. The ball of fire exploded and erupted with a loud crack and boom that his eardrums were blown out. Soldiers flew into the air and fell at neck breaking distances back to the ground. Sickening thuds fell all around him and then there was silence as he fell to his knees, fire burning completely around him and his head hitting the ground, completely blackening out. For seven months. But that wasn't before he had been burnt beyond repair.

A single tear escaped his eye and travelled down his cheek onto the pillow.

The girl was silent behind him, still staring at the ground.

"That's why you barely look at me," he said quietly, looking at her, "Because I'm burnt. Because I'm hideous to look at.

"No!" The girl looked up defensively, and caught his eyes. He could tell it was taking all she had to look even at his eyes.

She looked back down. "You aren't hideous," she paused momentarily, "But your burns were worse back when they first brought you here. That's why they brought you here. To heal you."

Aang's eye got wide.

"What?" He asked intensely.

The teen looked at him now, her eyes latching onto his face. Her look was pure and lovely as she showed that she really indeed mean to look at him and that he wasn't hideous.

"All of our best healers were brought together and gallons of spirit oasis water were gathered." Her eyes shone with brightness, "We have been slowly treating your wounds over these past seven months, and they are slowly, but surely going away." She looked down again at the mess he had made on the floor that was reeking with stench now, and moved to get a towel to clean it up.

"It will take a few years before we can restore you to your original status," she said slowly and quietly, letting him digest the information.

Aang shifted his weight and looked at the ceiling. There was too much information to take in.

"I want to see," Aang said suddenly.

The girl halted suddenly and stood with her back to him.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea," She said quietly, her voice barely reaching him.

"Do it," he rasped, ordering her now, completely angry and wanting this one thing, "Bring me a mirror to look at."

The girl hesitated. She then walked back to the bowl she had laid on the floor and bended some water out of it, and made a thin slab of ice, and brought it over to him to look at.

The reflection he saw was something he could not describe. At first all the breath had left him and he dropped the ice on his chest.

_Who was that monster?_ He cried inside of him. He closed his eyes, the image dancing behind his eyelids. He heard the girl leave the room, probably scared how he would react, he imagined.

He felt a sob break out upon his lips and breathed in deeply.

_This is what I get for trying to protect those I love,_ He thought bitterly. At that moment, he felt something inside of him urge him to look at his image again. He weakly bended the ice and looked at the reflection once again, this time knowing what to expect.

He took in a sharp breath and then let it go, and then slowly let the ice fall back down on his chest. He stared at the ceiling hopelessly.

_It doesn't matter what I look like now, but that it is _who_ I am now. And I protected them. _With that, he bended the water down to the bowl and fell into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Time: 9:06 PM**

**Well hello there everyone! Where have I been these past few weeks? Months? Where indeed? Well... I took a break from Avatar related stuff and started writing Jimmy Neutron fiction. (If you want to check it out, I won't complain!) But then I realized that I hadn't written anything Avatard-ish in a while. Ouch girl! Anyways, I hadn't written anything for a while (this whole month of November actually) because it is National Novel Writing Month! For everyone who knows what I'm talking about whoo-hoo! For anyone who doesn't, it's quite simple. For the month of November, I have been writing a novel. And I am sad to say that after too many weeks of pouring out my guts and glory, I have almost made it. But my schoolwork is showing the results of my hard work, and so I have told myself that I am not going to finish that novel in a month. Boo hoo. But... for some strange reason, I had time to finish a short chapter. I'm awful aren't I? haha**

**Anyways, I love reviews! Keep them coming and let me know whatcha think!**

**Disclaimer: **_No. Still, after all these months, I don't own Avatar! :( _

* * *

Here he was. His home.

Two long years had trudged by, Aang sitting softly in his little room, barely moving, barely breathing. The only thing he usually did was stare out the window in the healing hut. Staring. Staring out into the white blustery landscape, never saying a word, except a 'thank you' to the healers that came daily.

But now.

Now.

After two hell ridden years of torture and healing he was now home.

He was leaning against a tree, his head lifted towards the sky. Was it right to come back now? Would she accept him back, after thinking he was dead all these years?

He then lowered his head, feeling a sob break out inside him, but he held it in forcefully. Nearly a hundred earth kingdom soldiers had lost their life on that fateful day. And Sokka. Aang squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Sokka had risked his life, and death was his punishment.

_Why couldn't it have been me?_ He thought angrily, biting his lower lip harshly.

Forcing his feelings deep inside him, he focused his thinking on Katara. His beautiful wife.

The Southern air temple was so deserted that at first thought, Aang had thought that she had left their home and moved back to the south; her original home. He had snuck in there, in disguise, and looked around. Every person he asked had told him they hadn't seen her in years and that there were rumors that she and the Avatar were killed in that fire nation rebellion almost three years ago. Upon hearing this, Aang's heart pounded weakly, ready to give up. It was that small, nagging feeling that he needed to continue his search that led him to Zuko's palace, asking if he knew anything about her whereabouts.

When Zuko first saw him, there was a strong moment of shock that was soon followed by a hug so compelling, that Aang thought he would have to glue his bones back into place.

After spending the night at the palace, Zuko finally told him the whereabouts of his wife. His heart leaping in joy, he set out on foot towards the southern air temple.

_Why didn't I think of looking here first? _He mentally kicked himself. _All that fire must have done something to my head._

But now. Now, here he was. Leaning against a tree in his own yard, watching and waiting. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, or how he was going to present himself to Katara, but he knew he needed to do it before sundown.

Groaning slightly, he leaned his back against the tree and shook his head. _Am I able to do this to her? To them? I've been gone for two years of their life…will I mess everything up if I come back now? _Lifting his arm, he stared at the blotchy and pink burnt skin he had made the healers leave. The only part of his body they didn't heal. He kept it to remind him of what happened that fateful day in the fire nation.

He closed his eyes. It seemed just like yesterday to him. Even though two years, almost three, had passed, the pain was still raw in his heart for all that had happened. It was one wound he would never be able to heal, even with all the power in the world.

Putting his arm back at his side he opened his eyes, suddenly hearing a small sound. Looking down, he found a small boy walking along the small path that led to a pond nearby. Aang tilted his head slightly, taking in the boy. He was incredibly young really, a very very young toddler. The boy turned, upon seeing a stranger and lifted his large gray eyes up to Aang's.

Aang, trying to smile friendly, squatted down and looked closely at the boy. He noticed the short brown hair he had, that looked freshly cut.

"Hello," he said softly.

The boy blinked as if afraid, but showed no sign of backing up or running off.

Aang chuckled to himself lightly. "It's okay, you don't need to be afraid. I used to live here you know."

Blinking more, the child opened his mouth slightly. "Are you the air spirit mommy always talks to when she's sad?"

Tilting his head slightly, the smile on Aang's face faded. "Air spirit? Oh no no, I'm a human, like you. I guess I'm just visiting is all." He looked to the pond to his right, "I've lost something dear to me, and came to see if I could find it."

Something hitting him, he flashed his eyes back to the child. "I wasn't able to hear your footsteps," He breathed. "Only a few people can sneak up successfully on me. People who jump out of the sky, or people who are…." His eyes went wide as he stared at the kid, "Or people who can walk on air."

The boy tilted his head, not understanding what this strange man was saying. But since the man seemed nice, he smiled and reached his hand out towards the Avatar.

Aang felt the small child's hand land on his knee as the boy looked up in wonder at the tall stranger.

It was at that instant that Aang heard footsteps vibrating through the earth. His ears perked up at the sound of twigs snapping and light footsteps crunching the dry leaves. The boy obviously heard the intruder too, as he had moved away from Aang and went around the tree.

Out of view, he heard the boy's voice rise with excitement and felt his body tense up. _Is that boy really who I think it is?_

"Mommy, mommy! Come! I met this really nice man. I want to show him to you."

"Man? Honey, there are no other people here except you and me."

"No really mommy! He said he used to live here, and he's so nice!"

There was a gap of silence. "Used to live here?" The womanly voice started to say something again, but as she came around the tree, her voice stopped.

Aang stood still as his eyes met hers, his mouth slightly open. Her body froze at the sight of the man, eyes wide and fearful.

Finally, Aang swallowed the lump in his dry throat and took a step forward.

"Hello Katara," he whispered.


End file.
